Changes
by Higuchimon
Summary: [one-shot, 31halloween, prompt #17: mask; Ryou, Fujiwara, & Darkness] In another world, another time, Ryou, not Fubuki, found Fujiwara in the basement. The beginning is a smidgen different.


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
><strong>Fandom:<strong> Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
><strong>Title:<strong> Changes  
><strong>Characters:<strong> Ryou, Fujiwara, Darkness  
><strong>Word Count:<strong> 740||**Status:** One-shot  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Angst, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
><strong>Challenge:<strong> 31halloween: prompt #17, mask  
><strong>Summary:<strong> [one-shot, 31halloween, prompt #17: mask; Ryou, Fujiwara, & Darkness] In another world, another time, Ryou, not Fubuki, found Fujiwara in the basement. The beginning is a smidgen different.

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><p>"Fujiwara!" Seldom did concern touch Marufuji Ryou's voice, especially not like it did now. He'd heard from Fubuki about the strange things their friend was up to, but he hadn't believed, not down in the core of his soul. Not until now, when he stood on the edge of a strange design, Fujiwara only a few feet away, a strange black mask on his face. "What are you doing?"<p>

"I'll be all right. This is what I want. The power of Darkness." Fujiwara's smile was too soft. Too quiet. Too real. Ryou's stomach clamped with fear of a kind he'd never known in a duel. _Power_ surged all around, power that made him want to reach for his deck and fight it back with all of his strength, whether he won or lost.

Ryou started to reach for Fujiwara, only to find himself frozen in place. Fujiwara's smile thinned. "Good-bye, Ryou." The mask lifted itself from his face as he spoke and floated across to hover before the Kaiser. "Take this."

He didn't know why he did, but Ryou accepted the mask. Touching it made his skin crawl, but he couldn't put it down. Fujiwara smiled one last time, soft and sad and lonely, then vanished, the darkness enfolding all around him.

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><p>Ryou didn't know how long he'd dueled, only that he could only vaguely remember when he hadn't dueled. His throat burned dry. His stomach cramped with hunger. His mind fogged with weariness.<p>

_Let me help you._

"No." Ryou ground out one single word. He didn't bother to glare at the mask; he didn't have time to spare in between move. He had to think about them now if he even stood a chance of winning. But he knew the Voice came from there.

That same dark voice he'd heard coming from the mask ever since Fujiwara'd given it to him. Softly encouraging him to put it on, to use its power to save himself, to defeat all those who came against him.

Ryou stood his ground. He was the Kaiser and he would win because of his own skills and his own strength, not because of a mask.

* * *

><p>Darkness hissed to itself; the boy's skills as a duelist were without peer, that was truth itself. Even on the verge of collapse, he didn't lose. He skimmed the edge, occasionally closer than even Darkness wanted, but he hadn't yet failed. And not because of Darkness's power. Always, always, his own talents brought about victory.<p>

_I need him._ He couldn't accomplish what he sought to do in the human world without a host. Not yet. This boy was the one he wanted, the strongest duelist he'd sensed in years. And yet he was so _stubborn_!

If only the other one had found them in that moment. The three were interesting types. This one, his host-to-be, strong and unyielding. The one who'd called him into the world, willingly giving himself to the shadows. And the third...he wouldn't have fought so hard. Fought, yes, Darkness surmised, knowing him through the memories of the other. But in the end, victory would've belonged to Darkness.

This was what he had to work with, though. And as strong as the Kaiser was, Darkness was _patient_. The time would come.

* * *

><p>Ryou slammed into the far back of the dueling arena. He thought he heard something crunch, even as pain shot through his shoulder. <em>It's broken.<em> He stumbled, trying to get back on his feet. There would be more duelists. More pain. More wins. More losses. He couldn't stop. He wasn't _allowed_ to stop.

"Hey, weakling." He didn't remember what the other duelist's name was. Maybe he'd never known it. They weren't big on introductions here. "I hear you've got a little brother, a real wimp. Maybe when I'm done killing you, I'll go find him, and see if he's worth the trouble of trouncing!"

_Shou._ Ryou's eyes narrowed. The throbbing pain in his shoulder didn't matter anymore. He had to _win_.

It lay out clear in his mind. He needed to win. He _wanted_ to win. And there was only one way that he could. One way to gain that strength necessary to put an end to this.

He slipped the mask from his inner pocket and stared at it for a moment. His opponent still ragged on him and Ryou ignored it all.

Then he set the mask on his face and the world changed.

**The End**

**First Note:** Originally I hadn't decided if I would make this a full fanfic or not. I finally decided that I would. I don't know when I will post it, but it will happen in due course.

**Second Note:** I originally posted this back in October 2012, but now am reposting these ficlets separately instead of as a collection, in order to have each listed under their proper character and rating.


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